Jarman Framing is the specialist in gilded and ornamental picture frames, crafting contemporary and traditional hand-built frames for Australia’s finest artists, museums, galleries, and art collections for almost 140 years.

Since 1879, we are proud to have been framers to many of Australia’s most significant artists: John Longstaff, Frederick McCubbin, Max Meldrum, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Clara Southern, Jan Hendrik Scheltema, and Walter Withers were all our customers, to mention but a few.

At Jarman, we still hand-craft our ornamental frames the traditional way, using the original nineteenth century Jarman and John Thallon hand-carved timber moulds that were used to create the ornament on the original frames made for these artists.

You will find many of our gilded and ornamental frames presenting major artworks by these artists in the National Gallery of Victoria, and other major collections.

Jarman Framing is proud to offer you the most extensive choice of hand- crafted picture frame designs from the 1880′s to the present day. Our traditional and contemporary frames are hand-crafted to order in our on-site workshop: continuing a long tradition of hand- made picture framing in Melbourne.

Because we hand- build our frames to order, we are able to adjust the frame size, design, finish, and toning of each and every frame to best present an individual artwork to its full advantage. Our skilled and knowledgeable staff will be happy to guide you through a detailed framing selection process when you bring your artwork into our studio.

We will help you to select a framing option in keeping with the style and era of your artwork, while still respecting your own personal taste and particular requirements. We can help you with Colonial, ornamental nineteenth and twentieth century frames, craft style, Art Nouveau, early twentieth century, including hand-carved frames, Art Deco, Modern, contemporary and more.

We can adjust pretty much every aspect of your frame to best suit your artwork and your needs: the various elements of the frame design; the size and depth of the timber profiles, the gilding choices, various adjustments of tones, brightness, and finishes, textures, choices of under-coat colours and top colours will all adjusted to best suit your artwork.

We are also able to dry-mount and frame your photographic works, in a contemporary range of sleek hand-finished timber frames.

During your consultation we will also be happy to evaluate the condition of your artwork, point out any areas of concern, and suggest if conservation work may be required to stabilize the artwork. Before 1975 there was a general lack of knowledge regarding conservation framing in Australia, and many art works framed before then are now at risk – if you are noticing strange markings (e.g. brown spots, yellowing or cracking) these can be fixed without undue expense if acted upon quickly enough.

We can arrange quotes for you from art conservation specialists should you wish to have any restoration work undertaken while your artwork is with us for framing.

Jarman use Rising Museum quality fully archival mount board, and conservation hinging methods to secure the life of your precious art works. We also stock a range of glass and acrylic options from the standard, right through to Museum grade non-reflective and UV rated choices to protect your artwork well into the future.

Should your canvas require stretching or restretching, we are happy to do this for you, and can offer you custom cut stretchers in sustainable plantation- grown native Aracaria, cedar, or aluminium. Again, we have a range of stretcher profiles available from standard right through to museum grade.

Jarman are also highly skilled restorers of old and damaged picture frames: so if you have an old picture frame that you love, which has seen better days, please bring it in to us. Through a careful process of stabilisation, and rebuilding of the ornament from moulds taken of the extant decoration we have been known to perform miracles! We are happy to resurface, refinish, re-gild, repair chips: whatever is required to bring your old frame back to its glory.

Our professionally designed hand-built frames will add beauty and focus to your individual artworks, and conserve them to be appreciated well into the future.